Method of making plain face nuts or the like



Oct. 23, 1951 R. WILCOX METHOD OF MAKING PLAIN FACE NUTS OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1947 m ZEFSM FZQFKG wwz hgw FzoFE-w Oct. 23, 1951 R. L. WILCOX 2,572,793

METHOD OF MAKING PLAIN FACE NUTS OR THE LIKE Filed July 31, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 STATION "4' STATION '3 44 STAT! ON '2 Oct. 23, 1951 R. WILCOX METHOD OF MAKING PLAIN FACE NUTS OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 51, 1947 m a zolpln gwurm fop Patented Oct. 23, 1951 METHOD OF MAKING PLAIN FACE NUTS OR THE LIKE Richard L. Wilcox, Waterbury, Comi., assignor to The Waterbury Farrel Foundry and Machine Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 31, 1947, Serial No. 765,233

Claims. (01. 1086) This invention relates to a method of and machine for making nuts and similar articles, and more particularly a polygonal nut having a plain or fiat face upon one surface and a chamfered face upon the opposite surface.

As shown in the drawings, the method comprises a series of steps consisting of pressing operations at a plurality of stations in the same machine, a workpiece being cut from a suitable length of solid bar stock and then formed, while cold, into the finished blank. The operations are carried out upon a machine having a plurality of stations at which the several steps 'of the process are performed, the workpiece being transferred from one station to another, and the machineserving to perform the several operations upon different workpieces or blanks at the same time.

It is contemplated by the present method to employ bar stock of relatively large diameter compared to the width of the finished blank, so as to reduce the lateral flow of metal which is required during the processing operations. Also, while the finished nut blank is provided with a through opening to receive internal threads, only a relatively small amount of metal is wasted as, during the forming operations, the nut is heavily indented, leaving only a small web of metal to be punched out by the piercing punch in order to perfect the opening, and the metal resultingfrom the indentations being displaced laterally to increase the cross sectional size of the blank.

Moreover, the operation of the present apparatus and the practice of the present process results in a finished nut blank havingaflat face upon one surface, and the nut being of polygonal shape. The corners of the blank are well filled out and sharply defined under the pressure of the tools, the fiow of metal being controlled so that this result will be effected.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of forming a nut blank from solid stock having a plain flat surface thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method and apparatus for forming a polygonal nut blank from solid bar stock, the blank having a plain fiat face upon one surface thereof, and being formed byja minimum of operations while the workpiece is cold, and requiring a comparatively small amount of lateral flow of the metal.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of forming a nut blank having a plain face upon one surface thereof in a series of steps performed at successive stations in a single machine, such that the operations at certain of the stations will be begun or partially performed at preceding stations, thus reducing the work required at succeeding stations.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine for forming nut blanks, the machine having a plurality of stations at which successive operations are performed on the work while cold, the work being transferred successively from one station to another, and the operations being of such a character as to form the finished blank with a minimum of effort and with a relatively small number of operations.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafte described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a sectional view of the working portion of a nut former or press embodying my invention and designed to carry out my improved process;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the tools employed at station #2 of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the tools employed at station #3;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the too employed at station #4;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the tools employed at station #5 of the machine;

Fig. 6 illustrates in side elevational and top plan view the workpiece employed to make the blank;

Fig. 7'shows similar views of the workpiece after the operation performed at station #2;

Fig. 8 shows similar views of the workpiece after being subjected to the operations performed by the tools at station #3; and

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate similar views of the workpiece after being subjected to the operations performed by the tools at stations #4 and #5.

' To illustrate my method and one embodiment of the machine for carrying out the method, I have shown a die block [0 held at one end of a header frame I l by suitable securing means, such as wedges l2 and a movable gate l3 designed'to be reciprocated toward and from the die block in the usual manner, and carrying a plurality of tools to cooperate with a plurality of separate dies mounted in the die block, as will be hereinafter mam - facing shoulder 2! of the die holder I8 to limit movement of the die in one direction. The die I9 is urged forwardly by a relatively strong comipression spring 22, so that the shoulder 20 will normally stand against the shoulder 2| 'andfthe face of the die be flush with the forward race of the die holder. Also movably mounted in the die holder is a knock-out pin 23 disposed within an opening in the die insert I9 and designed to substantially fill this opening. The knockout pin is actuated by a;knock-out rod 24' which" gnay be advancedby suitable mechanism (not shown) 'a'gains'ta filler'plug 25, which turn en- .gag esthe'knockoutpin 23. Itwillf'be noted that the end or the pin "23 is slightly ta'pered, as shown at 26, so that, as will behereinafterexpia'meq, it will indent'oncupthe rearfa'cepf the workpiece. I r r The gate at thisst'atiOn jisfprovided with a punch 21 within which is' mounted a 'dieholder 2 8 carrying "a 'dief29, the latter being provided with an opening "3'0fwhich, cooperates with the opening 'inthe dieinse'rt l'9 jto form; the workpiece at this stati on. 'Itfinayhre'henoted that the lower portion of the die opening '30 is tapered inwardly to a slight extent, :as'shownat 3|," and is provided with 'fiattened'ar'e'as which extend above this taper, which flattened areas form fiat spots upon the workpiece preparatory to forming the polygonal faces.

I e die 29 is a opening'inwhich is niounte'd'a'p'in' 33 urgedforwardly by the spring 34, and the forward movement being limited by contactjof'the, shoulder 35 with the rar'ehdiofthedie, holderf28.

The gate of the machine isshownj itsjforward or advanced position in Fig. 1. Whenwithdrawh'fr'oin' this positibh, fthe pin"'33' willfproject fromthe gate, anda workpiece cut from-the length of -stOck' Will he' advanced by the knife 1 B to a point registrati n with the' openingin'the "ai dnsert" 9 ,rrhe 'g'ate'wur then be "advanced, and the end of "the pmsrwin engagetheworkpieceah d foree it Cht'of thehutter 'IBinto the opening in the f die insert, permitting the knife to "withdraw. Asthe'lgate 'isadva'nced, the pin 33 will be tractedilativelytp the "die 29 f'after the workpiece hasbeen sated'i'n theopening' the die insert [9 andth'e outer face of the die '29w'illcome' into contact with the outeffa'cef of the die insert lsmnus enclosing the work"within the complemental openings of 'tliej'dies," at which'time the pin 33 will'close-the'rearend of the opening in the die 29. Upon'a stillfurth'er advance of the gate,the'punch'and die l9'will move together, the latter i'novi'ng' against the tension of the springfl until theinetal ofthefworkpiece has heenfcaus'ed' to filow and completely fill t e s ni ch omed ,he comp j s a bnfiihgs of the two dies between the pins 23 and f33. "At the he inning of the forming operation, "the kpi'ece"will be completely enclosed intjhe die art of tire-"refining "bli iaii l f adu he i ef h t." h

punch and die l {are movingreafr'wardlytogether against the tension 'ofthe Hie spring.

shaped in the form shown at 36 in Fig. 7, the rear portion being substantially cylindrical in shape and having a recess or cup 31 formed in the rear face surrounded by a relatively thin peripheral edge. Tlhe forward portion or the blank is taper- .e'd, as shown at 38 and 39, and provided with fiat spots 40 which are partly upon the tapered portion and partly upon the cylindrical portion.

This workpiece 36 will then be carried to station #3 by any suitable transfer mechanism (not shown). At this station, a fixed die 4| is mounted inra die holder 42 the die being provided with an opening within'which moves a knock-out pin 43, 'thispin beingad'apted to be retracted by a spring 150 provided with a through 44. thedie 4| is a die insert 45 slightly smaller than the outer portion of the opening in theclie, and thepin 43 also extends through this insert. As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the

insert 45 is provided with a forwardly projecting annular domed or rounded rib 46 which acts "upon the rea'rface of the workpiece and forms therein an annular groove or "recess which lies between-the outerp'eriphery of the blank and a 'flatcentral area, as *will'be more fullydescribed hereinafter. d It may also be noted that the opening in thediell isf'o'f generally polygonalshape "withsomewhat"rounded corners, so as to effect apreliminary shaping of the blank into poly'gonal "form.

I At this'station, a ip unchfd'l is secured to the gate in a punch holder- Ja -and movably associated withthe punch is'a'pinflQ-urged outwardly by the spring "50. The *punch is provided in its forward 'face with an opening complemental "to the opening in'the die gl l. Thi 'openingcoinpris'es angular or fIfllStQ-COl'll'Cfil portions 5 I "and *52, which give the "front-face 0f the workpiece a generally domed shape, the lateral wall of fthe domed portion being angular, however, rather than rounded. The-endof the pin 49 is'substantially fiat; so "that 'the extreme forward-face of thenut'below the domed or-angled portions *5[and52fwill'besubstantially flat, V

The Workpiei ce"'afterfit has been acted" uponby the" tools" atstation"# 3 isshown 91754 in Fig.j8"o f the drawings. It will "beapparent that, when the work piecefwill 'beprovidedwith anannular "with generally 'flattene'dfsides 55' having unfinishedor rounded cornersfj56. 'The rear'facepf the work piecewillbe" provided with an annular 'groov'e or recess "51, *this recess surrounding a v flattened central portion -'s;a -ar m lying within a relatively ,"riar'row' fiat-peripheral portion 59, this portion j being jmoi'e pronounced at the rounded corners of theibla'nkwhere flat spots'are formed. It'h'as been found thiat'for'ming the annularrecess" or groove in'thefaceofthe blank; which is to be thejflat-face ,in"tl'1e finishedblank, controls the flow ofm'etal, so'thatatfsu'c'ceedingstations in the machine the corners ['of the polygonal blank will be "well'filled out and. sharply fdefined. Thelower'portion bf' the ispfovided with two substantially "annular 1 surfaces f 66 and "6 I, these surra'cs'seifi rgfmed hy"the.portions5l and are: the opemng th'e pu'nc yso that the blank fis of tapering shape below "the flattened 1atera1surfaces55. v h n et is then transferred tdstaitidnifi'4 on the machinewheretheforinatibn of the workpieee "win'p'e"cempleted except for the 'rp'ierciri operation, At this station, afloatingdie63'is movably, nio'untediria'die holderfifli he die being greed eutwardly b j'a stron springiss. Within an'opehingfinftlie die" 63' are mounted fdie' inserts 'BFa'LndT'I. The diem'serresnpronmswitna polygonal opening 68 having sharply defined corners to properly form the finished nut.

A punch 69 operates through an opening in the insert 61, this punch being provided with a reduced or domed end to indent the outer surface of the workpiece, but .the contact of the workpiece or blank with the forward face of the die insert 6'! will, at this station, form a fiat plain upper surface about the indentation formed by the end 10 of the punch.

The gate at this station is provided with a fixed punch H held in the punch holder 12. This punch is provided with polygonal faces 13 and a reduced end 14 which forms a relatively deep recess in the forward face of the workpiece. It will be noted that the working end of the punch H is slightly smaller than the opening 68 of the die insert 66 so as to leave a smallarea of the workpiece which is not contacted by the face of the punch, thus forming a chamfered edge on the front face of the blank.

When the blank has been carried to a position in alignment with the tools at station #4 by the usual transfer mechanism, the'gate advances and the punch 'H pushes the blank out of the transfer mechanism into the opening 68 of th die insert 66. Continued advance of the punch causes the blank to be compressed between the punches 69 and H, and between the latter and the forward face of the die insert 61 the metal of the blank will be caused to flow against the polygonal sides of the die opening and fill the sharp corners between these dies. Also, the die 63 will be forced slightly rearwardly against the spring 65, so that the rear end of the workpiece will be caused to take up against the end of the punch 69, thus forming an indentation in the rear face of the blank at the same time that the remainder of the rear face is shaped into a flat plane surface. The ends of the punches are so shaped that both indentations are countersunk, thus providing for a countersunk-through opening in the blanks, so that no projecting burr will be thrown out in the threading operation.

At this time, the blank is in the form shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings where, it will be seen that, it is provided with flat faces 15 having sharply defined corners l6 therebetween. The forward face of the blank will be chamfered, as shown at H, and will be provided with a relatively deep recess or indentation 18. The rear face of the blank will be provided with a central indentation 19 and a fiat face 80 surrounding this indentation.

The blank is then transferred to station #5 where the piercing operation is performed. At this station, the gate is provided with a piercing punch 82 which cooperates with a retainer die 83 and an anvil die 84, these two dies being seated upon a fixed bushing 85. As will be apparent from Fig. 5 of the drawings, the front face of the anvil die is fiat so as to contact the flat face of the nut blank, and this die is provided with an opening 86 to receive the slug punched from the center of the blank. It will also be noted that the retainer die surrounds only the rear portion of the blank to prevent this portion from expanding during the piercing operation. By this arrangement, the retainer die may be made solid instead of sectional, and, while the blank will be effectively prevented from swelling or enlarging, it may be readily withdrawn from the die upon return of the punch and stripped by the usual stripper 81.

The blank, after it has been operated upon by the tools at station #5, is shown at 88 in Fig. .10 of the drawings, where, as will be apparent, it, is provided with a smooth clean opening 89 for receiving a suitable thread to complete the manufacture of the nut. Except for the punching of the hole, the configuration of the nut as it was formed at station #4 is retained by the tools at station #5.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit, of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

, l. The method of making a nut blank-having a flat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, forming a cup-shaped area in the face at one end of the workpiece, and then placing the blank in a die having flattened side walls and applying pressure to the blank to form at said face a central substantially circular flat area and an annular recess surrounding and extending inwardly beyond said area to force the metal of the blank laterally.

' 2. The method of making a nut blank having a fiat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, forming a cup-shaper area in the face at one end of the workpiece, then applying pressure to the blank to form an annular recess in the cupped face adjacent the outer portion of said face, and indenting both end faces of the blalnk while forming fiat surfaces on its side Wa 1.

3. The method of making a nut blank having a flat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, forming a cup-shaped recess in the face at one end of the workpiece, applying pressure to the blank to form an annular recess in the cupped face, and then upsetting the metal at said face to form a flat surface while forming flat faces on the side wall of the blank with sharp corners between the flat faces.

4. The method of making a nut blank having a flat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, forming a cup-shaped recess in the face of the workpiece at said end to form a relatively thin peripheral edge, and then placing the blank in a die provided with flattened side walls and applying pressure to the blank to form an annular recess in said face surrounding, and extending inwardly beyond, a central flattened portion to force the metal of the blank laterally.

5. The method of making a nut blank having a flat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, forming a cup-shaped recess in the face of the workpiece at said end to form a relatively thin peripheral edge, then applying pressure to the blank to form an annular recess in said face surrounding a central flattened portion, and then indenting and upsetting the metal at said face to form a flat surface about the identation and form flat faces on the side wall of the blank.

6. The method of making a nut blank having a flat face at one end thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, "whichiconiprises' cutting the :workpiece from a length -iof solid 'stock, forming an annular recess in one face .i of the blank "surrounding a central flatarea, and then centrally i indenting this face of the. blank .while forcing the portion of V the'face of the blank outside of the --indentation'against fiat anvil surface to upset the metal adjacent said face and forming a 'flat surface aboutsaid indentation. V

'7. The method of making anut-blank having a flatface at-one en'd thereof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece froma length-of s'olid stock, forming a cup sha'pedmecess the face of --'-the workpiece at said end to form-'arelativelythin 'pe'rip'he'ral edge about the cupped area, andpressing the blank in a die-against a fiat-anvilsurface surrounding an indenting tool 5 to form -'a flat surface at'the cupped face around -a central indentation' and to form fiat sides 'upon the-side wall the'reof. v

8. "The method I of "making a nut blank having a fiat-face at one-end-ther eof surrounding the opening through the blank, which comprises cutting the workpiece from a length of solid stock, cupping theface of the workpiece at said end to form a relatively thin peripheral edge, thenapplyingpressure tothe blank to form-an annular recess-in said face surrounding a central flattened portion, and indenting both faces of the blank centrally to form-a'flat -surface aboutthe indentation on one-face of the blank while simultaneously forming flat'faceson the side wall of the blank.

plying-pressure to thebla'nk tdform anannular recess insaidface surrounding'a centralr'fiattened pcrtion,-..indenting..both ifaces of the blank centrally to form a iflat surface about the indentation on one face :of -1the' blankwhile simultaneously forming fiat faces on the side wall of the blank, and thenpunching out the .metal between the'indentations to .perfect an opening through the blank.

10. The method of making .anut blank having a flat face at one 1 end tithereof surrounding the opening 'throughzthe blank, .which comprises cutting the workpiece'from a length of solid stock, applying'pressure 1JO1$heJb1aHk to form an annular recess in-1said face lying'between a central areaandithe peripheral edge of the blank .While formlnglflattened areas on its sidewallg'and then indenting. said central area to cause the metal to flow outwardly and perfect the flat :surfaces -:on :theeside wallof the blank: and aflat area on said face surrounding the indentation therein.

RICHARD-L. .WILCOX.

v REFERENCES =CITED The fol-lowing're'ferences are of record in the file ofthis patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,007,944 Hansen Nov. '7, 1911 1,674,310 Topping June .-19, 1 928 1,714;,316 Oakley May 21,1929 1,925,753 Fitch -Sept. 5, 1933 '1,993;1'-3'7 Gibney Mar. 5, -1-935 2,013,460 Erdn 1a n Sept. 3,-1935 2,057,527 Johnson Oct. 13, 1936 21705473 -Fitch Ang -22,1939 2,287,214 Wilcox June .23, 1942 2,436,342 Wilcox Feb. 17,1948

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,572,798 October 28, 1951 RICHARD L. WILCOX It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification o! the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 3, line 55, for tracted read retracted; column 4, line 47, for will be provided with an annular read lea/vex station #3, it will be formed; column 6, line 32, for cup-shaper read cup-shaped and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oifice.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of February, A, D. 1952.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Own/missionarof Patenta. 

